Finding Dad
by fallanydeeper
Summary: Bella Swan and her 14 year old daughter, Bree, move back to Forks. Both Bella and Bree become friends with Dr Edward Cullen but what happens when the three are forced to accept the loss which looms in front of them?
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Hey! Welcome to my new story. The idea for this hit me after watching one of my favourite English TV Shows. It will be similar so any Brits may recognise the storyline but I will be putting my own twists to it.

To those of you who read my other fic _Danseur et Danseuse; pas de deux_, please don't worry. I haven't stopped writing it and I will continue with it. I currently have a block on that story and I'm hoping that writing this will help me overcome that.

With that being said, hello to any new readers I have. I really hope you enjoy this story but I will say now that there will be difficult themes ahead which is why this is rated as M, there probably _won't_ be any lemons but I hope to write a decent, compelling story for you all.

**Finding Dad**

**Chapter One – Prologue**

"This one is for nausea," the packet of pills landed on the desk as I pulled them from the large pharmacy bag, my fist slamming against the wood in my rising anger. "This one is for the pain," another packet, another loud bang of my fist ringing in the room.

He nodded slowly, still sitting stoically behind his desk, his fingers entwined before him as he lowered his steady gaze to me. I could see the answers to my questions in his eyes but I was refusing to believe it until I heard the words from his own lips.

"And this one?" I continued as I placed another blister of pills in front of him, sinking into the chair opposite him as fatigue took over, the anger having drained me of all my energy. "This one will shrink the tumour right?"

Unknowingly, I held my breath as I waited.

The silence stretching before us as a battle warred in his eyes.

Would he tell me?

I could see his dilemma, his heart wanted to tell me, to put me out of my misery but his professionalism held him back.

"Right?" I pleaded, my voice almost a squeak as my heart started to beat faster, my palms sweating.

Still waiting.

Always waiting for answers.

"No."


	2. Something in the Water

**A/N:** In the first five minutes I had quite a few reviews on different sites and a load of story alerts too, so thanks for those! I hope you all enjoy chapter two.

**Chapter Two – Something in the Water**

I wear a demeanor made of bright pretty things  
>What she wears, what she wears, what she wears<br>Birds singing on my shoulder in harmony it seems  
>How they sing, how they sing, how they sing<p>

Give me nights of solitude, red wine just a glass or two, reclined in a hammock on a balmy evening  
>I'll pretend that it's no thing that's skipping my heart when I think<br>are you thinking bout' me babe? I'm crazy over you

Aaah Aaah Aaah  
>there's something in the water, something in the water<br>Aaah Aaah Aaah  
>There's something in the water, that makes me love you like –<p>

I've got halo's made of summer, rhythms made of spring  
>What she wears, what she wears, what she wears<br>I got crowns of words a woven each one a song to sing  
>Oh I sing, oh I sing, oh I sing <p>

**BPOV**

"Bree!" I called up the stairs as my hand gripped the grab rail and my voice grew an octave higher than usual as my irritation grew, "you will not make me late to work again, now get off of the phone, come downstairs - _in school appropriate clothes _- and eat your breakfast."

The usual morning sounds of slamming doors and stomping feet greeted my ears as I moved back into the kitchen, picking up my purse and checking I had everything I needed.

Wallet – check.

Cell – check.

Lanyard to get through security – check.

Make up, mirror, comb – check, check, check.

And finally, Advil for the inevitable headache I'd get once the 20th person complained that their pudding cup wasn't cold enough – check.

I placed my purse on the counter and ran my hand through my hair, looking up at the clock which annoyingly told me I only had ten minutes to get Bree fed, in the car and dropped off. Otherwise I was going to be late _again_.

"Bree!" I screeched, wheeling around and gasping as my daughter hovered in the doorway, her cell glued to her ear as it always was. She rolled her eyes at me before she slumped down at the breakfast bar, sliding the half empty box of _Fruity Pebbles _toward her and pouring them in the bowl. I say she poured them in the bowl but most landed on the table as she concentrated on her phone call.

"… Oh. Em. Gee!" Bree shrieked into the phone as I poured milk on her cereal, turning to place the carton back in the fridge as she continued her call. "Get Out! No way! Uh, I swear she is such a skank, Victoria."

"Bree!" I swung around, staring in disbelief at my daughter, having never heard her utter such foul language before. She blinked at me, as if wondering why I was mad before recognition crossed her face and her mouth popped open in an 'O'. I took the phone from her and placed it to my ear, "Victoria, Bree has to finish getting ready for school now. She'll see you there." I cut the girl off before she even had a chance to answer and placed Bree's phone down on the counter.

She slammed her spoon down into her bowl, milk sloshing over the sides and pooling on the granite counter top, before standing up and stomping through to the hallway. I picked up my purse and slipped her cell inside it as I followed after her. The front door crashed against the wall in her annoyance, she knew that she wouldn't be getting her phone back today.

I had to stop myself from laughing at her as she stood with her back against the closed door of my Volvo, her arms folded across her chest as she physically showed her frustration at me and the scowl to end all scowls marring her pretty face.

"If the wind changes, your face will be stuck like that," I chuckled as I unlocked the car with the remote key and slid into the driver's seat, remembering how my grandpa had told me the same thing as a child and how I had always believed him.

"Whatever," was the huffed reply I received as Bree slung her book bag into the back seat before settling in the front and pulling her seatbelt over her body and clicking it into place, her arms immediately folding across her chest once more as she turned her head indignantly to stare out of the window.

The engine turned over with a soft purr as I placed the car in gear and gently eased off of the drive, checking in both directions before pulling completely out onto the road and driving the five minute journey to Forks High, the school I had attended so many years before and now Bree was following in my footsteps, I only hoped she had a better start at adult life than I had.

I was well aware that Bree was old enough to make her own way into school but she was too young to drive herself and I was one of those panicky parents, always dreading each milestone she made. With every passing year, she learnt to do more and more stuff by herself.

It started with small things, holding her bottle each night as she drifted to sleep, using a knife and fork without any adult help, learning to dress on her own. I remembered when she was 5, she would sit on the step in the kitchen, going through the box of shoes and pulling out all of mine and James' shoes with laces, practicing to tie them over and over again until she finally nailed it with her favoured "bunny ears" method. She'd demanded that she'd never wear Velcro shoes again and James had had to run to the store before it closed to buy her some laced shoes for school the next day.

Of course I'd been elated with how grown up she was becoming, but it saddened my heart to know that she needed me less and less with each year that passed. I knew there would come a day when she no longer needed me at all. She'd move out of state, or even worse, out of the country, only visiting on holidays and special occasions. I would barely ever see the little girl I had birthed and raised into a beautiful, kind and giving woman.

Of course, Bree whined almost every day that she was old enough to walk to school, that her friend's mom and dad didn't drive them in. I never explained my reasoning to her, that I just wanted to keep my baby girl dependent on me, just for a little while longer. As far as Bree was concerned, I thought the drivers of Forks were far too inattentive and didn't trust them to not cause an accident. She'd always roll her eyes at me and state that I was a paranoid, crazy woman and not every person behind the wheel of a car was out to get her, before she'd giggle and willingly get into the car. I was sure, however, that she secretly loved our morning time together, especially now that it was just us.

"Can I have my phone back now?" Bree snapped me out of my reverie as I pulled into the parking lot. I arched my eyebrow as I killed the engine and turned to look at her. It was always the same, any time I had to confiscate her beloved cell, she'd always ask for it back, even though she knew it was hopeless.

"Bree, do I really need to answer that?"

She shrugged and opened her door, stepping out and closing the door before she retrieved her bag from the back seat. She leant back in the open window and responded. "If you don't ask, you don't get," she grinned cheekily, throwing the remark back at me which I had always said as she was growing up. "See you at three, mom."

I smiled and waved as I watched her walk toward her group of friends. Victoria, Jane and Zafrina immediately brought Bree in to some kind of awkward group hug, each of the other girls keeping one hand on the bottom of their skirts as they tried to keep them from rising up. I shook my head as I pulled away, wondering to myself why their mother's didn't insist on them wearing an appropriate wardrobe to school like I did with Bree.

Yes, she was the odd one out amongst her friends but at least she wasn't dressed inappropriately. She didn't look like one of the cheap whores my own friends had looked like at that age. I shook my head, driving the short distance to the town's hospital as I thought about my small group of friends and what they were doing now. Jessica had dropped out in senior year to give birth to her first son, having no idea who the father was. I'd heard that she was now a mother to three children, each with different parentage.

Lauren, although spreading her legs at every opportunity, had managed to escape Forks High without visiting the maternity unit for herself. Although rumour had it that she'd had several abortions throughout her high school career. She'd moved to NYC to study to become a lawyer and follow in her father's footsteps only to find herself freefalling into the depths of drug abuse. She'd dropped off the Forks grapevine a few years back and no-one had heard from her since.

I suppose, out of the four of us, only Angela had managed to make any of us truly proud. She'd made sure to hold her virginity until her wedding night. She and her high school sweetheart, Ben, had both been accepted to Dartmouth and had moved in together, graduated together and then finally married each other. Ben had a diploma in business and Angela had achieved her dream of becoming a chef. They owned and ran their own restaurant together. I was truly proud of how far they had come together and everything they had achieved.

I wasn't ashamed of the way my life had turned out. I'd married a man I thought I was deeply in love with and I think at the beginning I really had been. After several years of marriage, we decided to complete our family and we were blessed with Bree. But no matter how much I wanted the perfect family and the perfect life, things don't always turn out that way. James changed, to the point where I didn't recognise him and I wondered what had happened to the man I had married. The man I'd loved and brought life into the world with had turned into a monster… who loved to use his fists. Still, I had Bree and I wouldn't change that for anything. My daughter was the best thing to ever happen to me and taking her from the violent world she was growing up in was the best decision I had ever made, for both of us.

I realised I had been sat in my car, in the hospital parking lot, for nearly 5 minutes which meant that once again I had found myself late. I bolted out of the car, my purse clutched firmly in my hand as I jogged my way to the entrance, locking the car over my shoulder as I burst through the revolving doors and swung left, flashing my badge at security and headed toward the cafeteria.

As was my luck, Peter (the cafeteria manager) was standing by the till, frowning as he looked down at his wrist watch before his eyes flicked to the entrance, settling on me. Trust me to be tardy when my shift followed immediately after his. I mumbled an apology as I hurried passed him to the locker room. I shoved my purse inside my locker, slipped my lanyard around my neck and made my way back out to the floor.

"You're late again, Bella," Peter's eyes were still cast down at his watch and knowing him, he was counting, to the second, just how late I was. "Third time this month, isn't it?"

My eyes rolled of their own volition before I managed to control myself and look somewhat sheepishly down at my shoes, my feet shuffling awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Peter. It won't happen again."

He chuckled and patted my shoulder, causing me to raise my narrowed and confused eyes up at him. Either he was in a rare good mood or that was supposed to be a sinister laugh, followed by the words 'you're fired'.

"Don't worry about it, sweet girl, I know you have a teenager. We parents need to stick together. My rascals made me late on many occasions." He winked at me, like he'd just invited me to some elite society and was sharing trade secrets with me. He clapped my back one last time and told me to expect a lunch time rush today after there had been some kind of multi trauma accident last night with many patients being admitted. Patients meant relatives and relatives meant hungry stomachs to feed during visiting hours.

I watched as he walked away, my confusion growing with his rapid change of behaviour. Peter was a ball-breaker and he was well renowned for that. I'd seen many of the weekend teenagers, working here part time for extra pocket money, run out in tears after a rather timid conversation with him.

Rosalie sidled up to me and smiled brightly. "Nice to see you stranger, I had a feeling you weren't going to show and I would have had to put up with him for the day," she said as her thumb pointed after Peter's retreating form.

"Would that have been so bad?" I asked as I opened the register, checking I had enough change for the day. "He seemed like he was in a pretty good mood."

"Oh yeah, he's in a good mood alright," Rosalie shuddered slightly before turning her beautiful face to the customer huffing impatiently at the counter. She totalled up his food, gave him a fake smile and wished him a pleasant day before turning her attention back to me and lowering her voice. "I came in this morning, to take over from Claire only to find that Claire had been sent home early, _with pay_!" She exclaimed.

I waited patiently for her to continue, Claire leaving before the end of her shift and not having her wages docked was certainly odd news and just proved even more how charitable Peter was being today but it in no way explained his strange mood.

"And?"

Rosalie's eyes rolled in her head once more and I briefly wondered if today was 'National roll-your-eyes day' or maybe there was something in the water.

"Isn't it obvious?" I shook my head in answer to her. It clearly wasn't obvious, at least not to me. "Peter got _laid_."

My eyes widened minimally before the nasty image of Peter buck naked decided to pop into my mind, threatening my gag reflex.

"How on earth would you know that, Rose?"

"Well, the cafeteria door being closed with a sign saying 'back in 5 minutes' and Charlotte walking out of here in nothing but a coat and heels kind of clued me in."

"You're kidding me?" I squeaked, glancing around at the tables and counters, hoping to high heavens that they'd at least had the decency to clean up after themselves. Images of Peter and Charlotte going at it on one of the tables assaulted me and I could have sworn I was going to vomit.

"Would I make up something like that?" Rose tsked, turning to her next customer. "That's why I'm glad you turned up. I'm sure he's going home to round two. If you'd been any longer, that good mood would have vanished for sure."

We stood in silence for just a few moments, both of us thinking our own thoughts but guaranteed we were both trying to wipe the visuals from our minds. I felt the laughter bubbling up and suddenly couldn't hold it for a moment longer, bending over at the waist as I laughed heartily. Rose looked down at me in confusion, a smile creeping onto her face, even though she had no idea what had tickled me so much.

"Back in… 5… minutes?" I managed to breathe out between bouts of giggling. Rose clued in to where my mind was and joined me until the two of us had tears brimming in our eyes and aching muscles in our stomachs.

"I wonder what has my two favorite ladies enjoying their Monday morning so much," a deep, velvety voice cut through the sounds of our hysterical laughter. I raised my watery eyes and smiled brightly at our latest customer.

"Hey, Edward," I grinned, ringing up his coffee and taking his money from him. He always paid the correct change but that was probably because he drank so much coffee every day that he knew exactly how much it cost.

He smiled in return and leaned closer, his elbow resting on the counter. "Are you beautiful ladies going to let me in on the big secret?" He whispered, jokingly flicking his eyes around the room in a covert way. I giggled softly and nudged his shoulder, causing him to spill his coffee. His eyes widened as he looked up at me and I couldn't help but start laughing all over again at his reaction to a drop of his precious coffee being spilled. "You'll pay for that, Bella," he laughed before heading to his usual table.

Rose started mopping up the small mess as I watched Edward with interest. He sat at his usual table, placed his coffee in the centre and then went about setting his laptop up in front of him. It was clear from the deep, purple, bags under his eyes that he'd been on the night shift but still he came in to spend his morning working on his paper. He'd head home in the late afternoon, grab a few hours' sleep and then be back. I knew he would because that's what he always did. It seemed that Dr Edward Cullen was a creature of habit.

"You have the hots for him," Rosalie commented before she slapped my butt and walked past me. "I'm going for a smoke, you can manage, right?" She asked, raising her eyebrow as if daring me to protest. I knew very well that she wasn't really going to smoke, as if the beautiful Rosalie Hale would allow such toxic fumes to enter her body. 'Smoke' was really code for 'bumping uglies with Emmett the paediatric nurse'.

I nodded and looked around at the empty cafeteria. Only Edward and an older guy were in here and it wouldn't usually start to get busy until nearer lunch. "Sure, Rose… say hi to Emmett for me." She winked before turning on her heel and tottering her way out.

I spent the next thirty minutes repeatedly cleaning tables and counters, unable to get the thought of Peter and Charlotte out of my mind. I keep flicking my eyes over to Edward who was clearly deep into his study. We had discussed his work on previous occasions and while he worked his normal hours as an orthopaedic surgeon, he was still interested in genetics and was currently trying to get a paper published about why some people are born with an extra 21st chromosome.

He sat up straighter in his chair, stretching his arms up above his head and I watched shamelessly as his muscles rippled beneath his shirt. He moved his head from side to side and I flinched as I head his neck crack. It sounded painful to me but the low moan he let out said that it felt pretty good to him. I strolled back to the counter, made another coffee for Edward, black with way too much sugar (that man was asking for a cavity) and a herbal tea for myself before I walked to his table and set his fresh cup on the table.

"Mind if I join you?" He smiled up at me and waved to the seat across from himself. I sat down as gracefully as I could and held my steaming mug of tea in both hands, keeping an eye on the door in case a customer should walk through but it was pretty quiet.

"Perfect timing as always, Bella," he chuckled as he slid his empty cup across the table and moved his new one in front of him. "I was just about to take a break." Of course, I already knew this. Since Edward and I had become somewhat familiar with each other, I had come to learn his tells. The stretching and neck cracking, plus the empty caffeine boost, were usually signs that he was ready to sit and talk for a while before he forced himself to get back to work.

He reached out and took my hand in his, his thumb rubbing gingerly over my knuckles. I felt the blush creep up my face and cursed my body for being so easy to read. Edward chuckled softly as his free hand raised to my face. I flinched, as I always did when someone looked to be getting too close. Edward frowned and gently cupped my cheek in his palm, raising my eyes to his.

"I wish you'd tell me who hurt you," he whispered, his eyes looking intently into mine, as if he were trying to read the answers from my very soul. "You can let me in you know; we've shared an awful lot with each other."

That was an understatement.

Edward was focused solely on his career and my only concern was raising Bree and giving her a stable and happy environment to grow up in but that didn't mean that I didn't have urges, like any other _normal_ woman. Edward had been there for me on such occasions and the two of us had readily scratched the others itch.

I'd put a stop to it a few months ago though, once my feelings for the devilishly handsome man turned to something more and I realised I couldn't put myself or Bree through the heartache. I came as a package deal and although I was ready to move on and try to start my life over again, I couldn't bring someone else into Bree's life without knowing that he were into it 100%. And although Edward had met Bree many times and formed some sort of alliance with her, I still couldn't risk it.

We'd remained good friends though and any day that I was working at the cafeteria, Edward would come in to work. And to be completely honest with myself, I felt securer sharing his friendship than I did sharing his bed. It was nice to talk to and hang out with an adult once in a while and I got just as much satisfaction from a conversation with him as I did from playing between his sheets.

"It doesn't matter now," I raised my tea to my lips and took a tentative sip, shaking my head slightly as the scolding tea slid down my throat. I placed the cup back down and nodded to Rose as she stepped back in and sat behind the register, flipping open her glossy magazine. "He's gone and I'll never see him again." That was all that I would say on the matter.

Edward nodded slowly, knowing that he wouldn't get more from me. He kept hold of my hand, his gentle touches sending small jolts of electricity through me as we continued to make small talk for a while. Rosalie got bored a while later and brought us over fresh drinks. We thanked her and she went back to the counter while Edward and I continued to talk about our weeks.

"How's Bree getting along now? I know you were worried about her grades… Didn't you say they'd slipped since you moved here?" My heart fluttered a little as he initiated conversation about my daughter, as if he honestly cared about her and her wellbeing.

I smiled and nodded as I sipped on my second drink. "She's doing so much better now. She even got a B on her last biology project," I made a mock-stern face at him. "Although I'm not entirely sure that was completely her doing."

The tips of his ears turned a little pink. "I don't know what you mean," he laughed as I 'hmmm'ed'.

Silence stretched between us again but it was in no way uncomfortable. I thought for a moment that I should get back to work but looking around at the empty cafeteria and taking in Rosalie who had her feet propped up, I realised it was pointless and I may as well just remain here.

"I need to start laying down some new rules tonight," I sighed as I pulled my hand from Edward's, wiping my sweaty palm on my jeans before running it through my tangled hair.

"Cell phone again?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, she just can't seem to keep off of it in the mornings, even though she'll be seeing her friends within the hour."

"Why don't you just confiscate it?" He asked as he cocked his head to the side, cutely, like an inquisitive dog.

"It's in my purse," I laughed, "which is where it was for most of last week too."

"Ahh, I take it that doesn't work then?"

I shook my head as I responded. "Not in the slightest. There used to be a time where if I took her favorite toy away, she'd immediately apoligise and promise to be good," I shrugged and heaved a sigh. "I guess that disappears once they hit their teens."

"What do you plan to do then?"

"Trial and error?" I questioned rather than stated. "I honestly don't know, Edward. I thought maybe I'd ban her from using her cell in the mornings and when she gets home from school but as soon as she's done her homework, she can have it back. What do you think?"

Edward seemed to mull it over for a while before he shrugged. "Sounds ok."

"That's it?" I asked, incredulously. "That's all you have to say?"

He leaned forward, taking both of my hands between his, squeezing gently. "I'm sorry, who am I to tell you what's right and wrong? I don't have kids so I obviously know nothing about it. But I do, honestly, think that sounds like a good idea." I chuckled softly at his flustered tone.

"Edward, one day, when you have a family of your own, you'll realise that there is no right or wrong way. It's just a case of finding a happy medium," I grinned and leaned forward, whispering my secret weapon to him. "Oh and always, always, let them think that they're getting the better deal, even if they're not."

Edward opened his mouth to say something just as my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I held my hand up to silence him, not meaning to be rude. I wondered who on earth would be calling me when everyone knew that I was at work. I pulled out my cell and frowned as I watched the name and number flash on the screen.

_Forks High Office._

I clicked to accept the call and pressed the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"_Hi Ms. Swan, it's Mrs Cope from Forks High School," _Mrs Cope's aged voice floated down the line, that woman had been the school secretary since long before I had attended.

"Hi," I responded dumbly. "How can I help?"

"_I'm afraid your daughter, Bree, has been taken ill and is in with the school nurse."_

It's the call that every parent dreads to receive.

"I'm on my way," I shot an apologetic look at Edward as I dashed to the locker room to grab my things, not even stopping to explain to a confused Rose and a concerned Edward as I left the building. "What happened?" I panted.


	3. Hurricane Drunk

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Any song lyrics belong to their respective owners. All plots and original characters belong to me, fallanydeeper. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter Three – Hurricane Drunk

No walls can keep me protected,  
>No sleet - nothing between me and the rain.<br>And you can't save me now, I'm in the grip of a hurricane.  
>I'm going to blow myself away<p>

I'm going out, I'm going to drink myself to death  
>And in the crowd I see you with someone else<br>I brace myself 'cause I know it's going to hurt  
>But I like to think at least things can't get any worse<p>

No home, don't want shelter  
>No calm, nothing to keep me from the storm<br>And you can't hold me down, 'cause I belong to the hurricane  
>It's going to blow this all away<p>

**BPOV**

"What happened?" I panted as I slid into the driver seat of my car, turned the engine over, slammed the vehicle into gear and reversed out of my space with my phone clutched precariously between my shoulder and ear. I knew better than most about the dangers of driving while talking on the phone, having had the "safe driving" talk drummed into me long before I even had my license. That's what you get when your father is the chief of police.

But there's always that moment of insane panic when you know something is wrong with your child. You have no idea what has happened or how serious it is, but immediately your mind springs to the worse possible scenarios. Does she have a bug, or something worse like meningitis? Maybe she fell down the stairs. Is she lying in a pool of blood, her bones disjointed as she screams in agony?

I shook my head, the phone almost slipping from my grasp as I tried to quell the rising panic, forcing myself to remain somewhat calm until I knew the details. I would be no use to Bree if I wound up having an accident.

"_She became violently ill in class, Ms Swan. She seems to be okay now but the school nurse thinks it would be best if she went home for the remainder of the day."_

Violently ill? What in the hell is that supposed to mean?

"She just got sick?" I asked, perplexed, as I pulled back into the school parking lot, feeling as though not much time had passed since I'd been dropping Bree off this morning. It seemed strange that she would suddenly become ill since she'd been absolutely fine this morning.

"_It seems that way, Ms Swan. I'm sure the school nurse will be able to enlighten you more," _Mrs Cope's too calm voice flutteredflittered over the line to me as I stepped out of the car and started running toward the school.

"I'll be there in a moment," I panted with each hurried step I took toward my daughter, my heart pounding against my ribcage as the panic returned, unsure of what I would be walking into. The fact that there were no EMTs in the vicinity was somewhat of a mild comfort to me but that didn't stop me from worrying unnecessarily.

I burst through into the main reception of the school, completely bypassing Mrs Cope who stood waving at her desk, trying to garner my attention and babbling something about not being able to go through until the nurse had released Bree. I could hear her tiny little footfalls, her heels clapping against the linoleum floor, as she followed me down the corridor. Her age and my determination lengthened the gap between us and my heart pounded in my ears as I got closer to the nurse's room, my palms clammy and my nerves shot to pieces. My baby was behind that door and I had no idea how poorly she was feeling.

I flung the door open, without knocking, and stepped hurriedly into the room. The nurse had her back to me but swung around at my intrusion, a frown on her face as she prepared to yell at whoever had just entered. Upon seeing me, however, her face softened and she motioned me forward without saying anything, her finger to her lips as she urged me to remain quiet.

My eyes zeroed in on the bed pushed up against the wall, my daughter laying prone on the sheets, her hair fanning out over the starched pillow and her eyelashes brushing the apples of her cheeks with every little movement they made in her sleep. I stepped closer to her, my need to be next to her, to see and feel her and know that she was really okay, was too strong. I saw the nurse go back to her work from the corner of my eye before returning my full attention back to Bree.

My hand worked its way into her hair, brushing the tendrils which had fallen across her sweaty face back. Her skin was so pale, more so than usual, and deep purple bruises had appeared beneath her eyes. She looked drawn and haggard and my heart ached for her as my mind sent silent prayers for her to feel better soon. She turned her head toward my palm, in her sleep, her lips parting as she released a gentle sob.

"Mommy?" She murmured, her voice cracked, her face screwed against the pain.

"Shhh, it's okay, baby. Mommy's here." I leanedt forward, pressing my lips tenderly to her forehead in order to comfort her, delighting as I watched her face relax as she slipped back into a more peaceful sleep. It always amazed me that no matter how old she got, she always needed me when she was feeling unwell. It was me who made her feel better, held her while she slept and made her soup to eat when she couldn't stomach anything else.

I was suddenly hit with the knowledge that despite all my fears about her growing up and moving on with her life, a life which inevitably wouldn't hold much of a place for me, she would always need me on some level. I was her mother and daughters always turned to their mothers for love, encouragement, support and advice. I smiled softly as I gazed down at the reason for my existence and I knew then that we would always have a close bond and even if she lived 50,000 miles from me, we'd still be close.

"Ms Swan, could we have a word outside for a moment?" I nodded my head to the nurse, not turning around as I focused on my child for a few more moments, finding it difficult to actually move away from her. I heard the door to the office open and after a few more seconds, I stepped back from Bree and followed the nurse out into the hallway.

I still wasn't aware what was wrong with Bree and judging from her appearance, it would seem that she was, in fact, quite unwell. But having seen her, even in the current state she was in, I had relaxed somewhat. My baby girl was breathing, not bleeding and was now resting peacefully and at this moment in time, I couldn't have asked for more than that.

The nurse smiled politely at me before she began to speak, "Ms Swan was Bree feeling unwell this morning?"

"No," I shook my head, my mind drifting back to the events of this morning. I remembered she hadn't eaten her breakfast but I presumed that was due to the mood she had found herself in once I had confiscated her phone. "I mean, she didn't eat her breakfast but she didn't say she wasn't feeling well and she didn't look ill either."

"Well, it seems most likely that she's just caught a bug, Ms Swan. The onset of her sickness was pretty fast and I'm sure that she'll be her usual teenage self in 24 hours or so."

I heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at the nurse, "Ccan I take her home now?"

"Of course you can, Ms Swan. She said she wasn't feeling nauseous anymore but she did have a rather painful headache so she's had a couple of Tylenol, if she needs more later on then you can go ahead and give her some in a few hours."

I slipped quietly back into the office and made my way to Bree's bedside, she was still sleeping relatively peacefully and I hated that I'd have to wake her. My hand gently brushed through her hair once more as I leaned down, whispering softly, "Bree, baby, wake up," she murmured and rolled over until her back was facing me.

"Don't… wanna… go school," she grunted and I chuckled, my fingers still playing with her hair.

"You're already at school, Bree. Come on, wake up and I'll take you home."

She mumbled something else incoherent as I gently nudged her shoulder before she turned back to face me, her eyes fluttering open slowly. I smiled down at her, helping her to sit up.

"Mom?" Bree croaked softly, her voice cracked and hoarse. She swallowed sporadically and winced with each movement of her throat muscles. It was obvious that her throat was raw from acid and was clearly causing her some pain and discomfort.

"Hey baby," I whispered with a smile as my arm hooked around Bree's shoulders and I helped to ease her onto her feet. "How are you feeling?"

Bree shrugged her shoulders as she began to move somewhat unsteadily on her feet and my grip around her tightened infinitesimally. "Better now, I just have a headache."

I kissed her forehead tenderly, checking to see if she had a raised temperature as I reached for her book bag on the floor before thanking the nurse and guiding Bree out to the waiting car. I opened the passenger door for her and helped her into the seat, waiting for her to buckle up before shutting the door and jogging around to the driver's side.

I hesitated once I was situated in the car, unsure of what to do now. Although Peter had been in a good mood this morning, I knew that if I called to say that and I needed to take the remainder of the day off to care for her, his mood would drop and I would be landed with the graveyard shifts for the next month. No one liked working those shifts as the only customers we ever received were hot shot doctors who believed the world should bow at their feet and couldn't understand why we didn't serve hot meals during the night. And besides, I needed the money, being a single parent definitely wasn't easy.

I looked across at Bree and although her head was resting back against the seat and her eyes were closed, she was already looking a lot better. Colour was starting to emerge on her pale cheeks once more and it was clear that her short nap had done her some good. I tossed Bree's book bag into the back seat and retrieved my cell from my jeans pocket, speed dialling the only person I had available to help me.

"Hi Dad," I said as soon as the call was connected.

"Hey Bells," my father's gruff voice responded. I could hear shuffling papers in the background but there were no noises from the TV so I guessed that he was at work and suddenly my only other option was no longer viable. "What can I do for you kiddo?"

"Bree's sick," I began before being abruptly cut off.

"How sick is she? Have you called 911, Bella? You know you should have called them directly, it's much slower to come through me first," Charlie ranted before I could correct him, a smile flitting across my face.

Bree cracked an eye open at the sound of her grandfather's raised and panicked voice coming from the phone. She smiled lightly as she shared a look with me and then closed her eyes again, completely used to Charlie's habit of overreacting when it came to her.

"Calm down, Dad," I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a migraine fast approaching, most likely due to the day's emotional . "She's okay. It's just a stomach bug. I just need someone to watch her for the rest of the day so I can get back to work…" I trailed off, hopefully.

He sighed deeply and I knew that I had been a fool to get my hopes up, even for that slight second, "I'm sorry Bells but I'm working. You know I would if I could."

"Yeah Dad, I know," I smiled even though Charlie couldn't see me.

"I'll see you at the reservation on Sunday right?"

"Sure. Bree is _really _looking forward to it," I laughed at the sight of my daughter's face as she arched an eyebrow at me. She knew that I had just landed her in it and now she would have no choice but to accompany me to the cookout at the reservation.

"Well that's great, Bells," Charlie replied before the tapping of his pen against his desk sounded out and I knew that I was quickly losing his attention. "Look after my baby girl."

"Of course I will, Dad."

"Alright," Charlie's gruff voice continued as I pictured him rubbing the back of his neck with awkwardness. "Love you, Bells."

"I know, Dad."

"See you, kiddo."

"Sorry baby, you'll have to come to work with me," I said as I shut my cell and looked across at Bree, who's eyes were screwed shut, her forehead resting against the cool glass.

"Mom," she whined, eyes still closed against the light. "I just want to go to bed."

"I'll talk to Edward when we get there, maybe he can find you a place to put your head down for a few hours." That soon perked her up. She sat up straight in her chair, her eyes flying open.

"Edward's in today? Okay sure, I'll come to the hospital but I'm not hanging around with you in the cafeteria."

I couldn't help but laugh as I slid the car into gear and turned out of the parking lot. It was clear that my daughter was crushing on my handsome friend and who could blame her? Edward was the very man that women would picture when seeking that 'perfect man'.

"What?" Bree scowled as her cheeks turned pink. I simply shook my head and continued toward the hospital, thinking of how much Bree had taken after me in both looks and mannerisms.

I pulled into the parking lot, the space I had vacated earlier being miraculously available. Bree was out of the car before I'd even managed to get my seatbelt off. I laughed to myself as I climbed out and retrieved her bag from the backseat before I followed after her. She turned immediately toward the cafeteria and stopped in the doorway, looking around. Her eyes lit up as they landed on Edward across the room, his laptop on the table and a half cup of coffee sitting beside him.

Bree took off toward him, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she dodged tables and customers. Either Edward had a sixth sense, or he heard her coming. He looked up and gave her a dazzling smile which was sure to only encourage her crush. I watched as Bree slid into the seat opposite him and immediately lured him into a conversation. I dropped her bag at her feet and apologised to Edward for the disruption.

"It's no trouble, Bella. Besides, I think Bree needs to tell me how she did in her project," he chuckled as I shook my head. We both knew that he deserved as much of the credit for that assignment as Bree did. I placed a kiss to the top of her head, smiling as she batted my hand away, before I turned to go back to the register and fill Rosalie in on what had happened at the school.

"Is everything okay?" Rose asked as I sat down on the stool, her eyes filled with concern. "You rushed out of here so quickly."

I nodded and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket, taking a bite and chewing slowly before answering, "yeah, Bree was ill at school but she seems fine now." I looked across at Bree and smiled as Edward's eyes met mine and he winked slyly at me.

I strained to hear what he was saying.

"Do you have any homework?" he asked.

Bree shrugged, as was her normal response to that question.

"Not much. I can do it in the morning."

"Yeah, you could," Edward agreed. "But then again, you could do it now and get it out of the way." Bree shook her head. "Think of it this way," Edward continued. "You'll have the entire evening to do what you want."

I watched in awe as Bree leanedt down and pulled her school work from her bag. I turned, wide eyed toward Rose. "You saw that, right?"

She laughed and nodded her head.

I let Bree and Edward work for a while before I wandered over with a soda for Bree and a fresh coffee for Edward. His hand brushed mine as I passed him his mug and I smiled at him in thanks for managing to get Bree to do some work, a feat I could never manage.

Things seemed to go from bad to worse after that. The day after Bree was sent home from school, she'd managed to get into a silly fight with her friend, Victoria. Somehow Victoria had managed to escape punishment but Bree had been given one week's suspension, so now she was spending every day at the cafeteria with me. She'd tried to talk me into letting her stay home alone but there was no way I was going to let that happen.

Thankfully Edward had been there every day to help. I didn't even know when he found the time to sleep, what with working his shifts at the hospital as well as babysitting Bree while he worked on his paper. They did seem to get along really well though;, Bree was always doing her work so she didn't fall behind and she always managed to keep up in a conversation with Edward. She was a bright girl, there was no denying it.

Bree slid her papers to the side and Edward closed the lid of his laptop. After days of watching the two of them working together, I knew this meant that they were ready for a break. I prepared them both some drinks and carried them across to them, taking a seat in between them.

"Bella!" Edward greeted, "pPerfect timing as always." He smiled so wide that the corners of his eyes crinkled. "Thank you for the drink."

"It's the least I can do," I responded, returning his smile.

"Bree, are you going to thank your mother for bringing you a drink?" Edward asked, turning his head slightly so that he could look directly at Bree.

"No, Edward, I'm not!" Bree sneered, her face contorted with an unknown rage. I stared in shock at my daughter, wondering where the jovial girl from just moments before had gone. She stood up to flee and I instinctively reached out a hand, gripping her wrist to stop her from storming off. "Get off of me! You're turning out just like Dad." she sneered before wrenching her arm from my grip and storming off.

My head fell forward into my hands as I fought back the tears which had sprung to my eyes. I felt Edward's heavy hand upon my shoulder as he squeezed gently, trying to comfort me. I felt guilty that he'd been put in the middle of my family drama. After a few moments, once I had composed myself, I raised my head slowly, my red eyes meeting Edward's concerned, green orbs.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Edward, it seems like Bree has been possessed in this last week and she's no longer my daughter. She's this angry and hurtful little girl."

"Maybe it's uh…hormonal?" Edward asked, his cheeks turning pink.

"Edward, are you asking if Bree is starting her period?" I tried hard not to smile as he nodded slightly. "Calm down there, Dr Cullen. Bree began her cycle a couple of years ago now so you don't need to worry about that."

I laughed as Edward physically relaxed and blew out a sigh of relief. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"Of course I have, Edward!" I snapped, my own temper rising in light of the situation and my lack of control regarding my daughter. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just at such a loss of what to do. I expected this behaviour from her a year ago when we first moved here, away from her friends, and now all I keep thinking is that maybe she's turning into James."

Edward shook his head, his grip on my shoulder tightening. "Don't think that. Bree's a wonderful young girl; you just need to get her to open up to you. I don't think she'll turn out like your ex, she saw first-hand what he was like to you and she wouldn't do the same."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Edward."

A beautiful smile crossed his face, his eyes sparkling and full of warmth. "That's very true but Bree is _your_ apple and it's your tree she's close to, Bella."

I was about to respond when a deafening sound came from outside, the sound of a heavy object pounding into hard surfaces. I looked to Edward, who looked to me, and both of us jumped to our feet, running out of the cafeteria and heading for the parking lot, both of us knowing that whatever was causing the disturbance was down to Bree.

I came to a sudden halt as I stepped outside, the sight of Bree taking her frustration out on the benches and trash cans, standing just outside the hospital doors, with a baseball bat, had me in a state of disbelief.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I shrieked as I leapt forward and grabbed the bat from Bree as she moved it in a graceful arc, ready to swing it toward a parked car.

"Get off!" she screamed back at me, pulling on the baseball bat as she tried to regain control of the weapon. "Go away from me!"

"What the hell has gotten into you? Why are you behaving like this?," I sobbed, my words catching in my throat. "This isn't you, this isn't my daughter!"

"Like you'd even know who I am!" she responded. Tears spilled over and fell down my cheeks as Edward stepped forward and removed the bat from our battling hands with ease.

"Bella, why don't you go back inside and finish up your shift, I'll take Bree home."

"No, I'll take her home and ground her," I said, glaring icily toward Bree.

Edward leaned closer and whispered in my ear. "You need this job, Bella. Let me handle this for now."

I nodded and turned on my heel, walking slowly back inside the hospital. I didn't even know how I was going to handle this, maybe it was best to let Edward look after her for now to give us both a chance to calm down. I just wished I knew what was going on with my little girl.


	4. In My Arms

A/N: Thank you all for the amazing reviews I have been receiving for this story. I didn't get this chapter written as quickly as I had hoped BUT it is still about a month quicker than usual lol. My normal thanks to all the crew, especially (at)Tammygrrrl for her phenomenal beta skills! Chapter Four – In My Arms

Knowing clouds will rage  
>And storms will race in<br>But you will be safe in my arms  
>Rains will pour down<br>Waves will crash all around  
>But you will be safe in my arms<p>

Castles they might crumble  
>Dreams may not come true<br>But you are never all alone  
>Because I will always<br>Always love you 

**EPOV**

Man I felt real sorry for Bella. No one deserved the cards she had been dealt and most people would crumble at half of the hurdles she had faced, but not her; she just kept on fighting and continued to plaster a smile to her face. I couldn't imagine the kind of stress she was under, she'd left her abusive husband and even though she tried not to talk about him, I'd gathered from past conversations that he was in prison, and that her evidence had been what put him there. So she was a single parent, trying to hold down a job and raise her daughter the right way.

I still harboured feelings for her, I couldn't deny that and maybe that was the reason why I stuck around and did all I could to help her out. For the entire week Bree had been suspended from school I'd kept her company in the cafeteria, ensuring she did her homework so that Bella had one less thing to worry about and Bree seemed to respond to me, so it was easy, even if I was getting a little behind on my paper. I wasn't sure what was going on in Bree's head but her behaviour had changed drastically in the last couple of weeks.

She'd always been this sweet little girl who was really close to her mother, they were almost more like friends than they were mother and daughter, but something had changed recently and as much as I cared about Bree, she was starting to drive me insane with the way she was treating her mother.

I had been blessed as a child. I was born into one of the most loving, caring and protective families I had ever met. I had been close to my own mother while growing up, since my father was a doctor and would spend days on end on rotation at the hospital. It was safe to say I was a mommy's boy but I still couldn't understand Bree's sudden change in personality and hatred toward Bella. I supposed that it could just be that teenage time of her life, or maybe it was the group of friends she was hanging around with and she was trying to act like the big girl, who didn't care about anyone else.

I watched with sadness as Bella made her way back into the hospital through the sliding doors, she didn't turn back, simply hanging her head instead as she wandered with a sense of loss and despair. I couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt at this moment. Did she think she was losing her daughter and gaining the personality of her ex-husband back?

I turned to Bree and sighed, my shoulders sagging at the sight of her sitting on the ground, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her crossed arms. I moved to crouch beside her, my eyes making contact with hers. They were red and swollen, her cheeks blotchy with dried tear tracks. I smiled softly at her and she sniffed before returning the gesture. I stood up slowly and held my hand out to Bree. She may have been acting out only five minutes ago, but now she looked so young and fragile and I couldn't help but want to comfort her and make her feel better.

After helping her to her feet, I guided her toward my parked Audi Spyder V8 and unlocked it with the remote before opening the passenger door for her. Once she was seated and buckled up, I placed the baseball bat in the foot well and moved around to the driver's side. Bree was looking a little uncomfortable with the bat sharing her foot space and I finally understood what my father had meant when he said that the Spyder was an impractical car. Until now, there had never been anyone but myself and my laptop in my car so its lack of space had never been an issue before.

"Sorry about the uh…" I waved my hand in the direction of Bree's feet before I started the ignition and manoeuvred out of my parking space.

"It's fine," Bree mumbled as she turned her head to look out of the window.

I turned my attention back to the road and revelled in the momentary silence as I drove us toward the outskirts of Forks. After missing the turn to head toward Bella's place, Bree whipped her head around, her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed.

"Edward, where are we going?" she asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

I removed my right hand from the wheel and pointed to the clock on the dashboard, which read 12:47. "It's lunch time, so we're going home for lunch."

"What, your home?" Bree questioned with a sudden look of interest on her face.

I chuckled and shook my head as I turned onto the dirt track. "No, we're going to my mother's house."

Bree giggled as she turned in her seat to look at me. "Seriously, Edward? You're going to your Mom for lunch?"

"What's wrong with lunch at my Mom's?" I laughed as I smiled crookedly across at Bree before nodding my head toward the windscreen, indicating that she should look outside. I was eager to see her response as my parents' house came into view. The trees surrounding either side of the track began to thin out and I watched from the corner of my eye as Bree's face took on a look of shock and awe, the closer we came to the Cullen house.

"_This _is your parent's house?" she questioned as she looked from me and back to the house, repeatedly. "It's… It's beautiful."

I nodded slowly as I pulled to a stop in the gravelled driveway in front of the house. I had grown up here and although the beauty and uniqueness of the house no longer shocked me, it was still a masterpiece which always seemed to bring a smile to my face. It was very nice, however, to see Bree's reaction and I watched as she fell in love with the house.

It was clear from the property that my father had more money than he could ever amass just from working. With its five bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and the entire front and back walls of the house being made from glass, the house was worth in excess of three million dollars. My great grandfather had immigrated to America with his family, from Italy, when he was just fifteen years old and had immediately gone to work. Our family history is sketchy back then but somehow he had managed to procure himself a business which over the years had grown and changed until, as it stood today, it was one of the most well-known and profitable IT companies. Needless to say, my brothers and I all had rather large trust funds.

Turning off the ignition, I angled my body to face Bree. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and took one last look at the sight before her, before granting me her attention. Her face was pale and her eyes red and swollen. I smiled tightly at her and watched as her shoulders sagged, she knew that I wanted to talk to her before we went in.

"What's going on, Bree?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and non-accusing

She shrugged and turned to look out of her window.

"Come on, you can talk to me," I probed. "Is it because of school?"

"School?" She shook her head minutely. "Why would school be a problem, Edward?"

"I don't know, Bree. That's why I'm asking you. You're an intelligent young woman, everyone knows that and sometimes they'll use that to their advantage and pile too much work on you. Are you struggling with school?"

"School is fine, Edward!" Bree snapped and her cheeks coloured as her temper began to flare once more.

"Have you fallen out with friends? A boyfriend maybe?

"It's nothing to do with you, Edward! Just leave me alone!" Bree screeched, reaching for the door handle.

"I am not your mother, Bree, and I will not stand for you talking to me like this." I hit the remote locking system and sat back as Bree pounded her fists against the dashboard once she realised there was no way out of the car until she opened up and talked to me. Her shoulders shook as her body was wracked with sobs.

I sat back and watched her for a moment, unsure as to what to do. I had hoped I'd be able to talk to Bree and see what was bothering her, offer her some words of impartial advice and maybe help her sort out her issues, which in turn would help Bella. But judging from the meltdown she was having in front of me, it seemed that I may have just made the situation worse.

Bree covered her face, shutting me out further. I sighed and unlocked the car, giving her the option to leave if she wished to. I was shocked, when I heard her timid voice break through her tears and the otherwise silence inside the car.

"I don't know what's happening," she croaked.

My brow furrowed and the leather seat creaked as I shifted my weight.

"What do you mean, Bree?"

"I just get so angry!" she cried out, shaking her head from side to side. "And I don't know why. It just comes out of nowhere. I can't even explain it, it's like this red haze and I just want to shout and scream at someone."

I frowned as I listened to Bree talk. I had no idea what was causing these outbursts but it definitely didn't sound like your usual case of teenage hormones. She must have been terrified.

"Maybe you should talk to your mom, Bree. Surely having her on your side would be better than arguing with her every day?" Bree looked as if she was about to disagree, so I plundered on regardless. "Your mom is just as confused as you are right now. Neither of you understand what is happening, or why you're so irritable at the moment but Bree… If you let her in, she'll understand and rather than get upset at you, she'll be trying to help you. Don't you see?"

She brushed her tears away as she nodded slowly before turning to face me. My eyes widened and I reached a hand out toward her.

"You're bleeding," I whispered, watching as a trickle of blood began to seep from her nose. Bree looked away from me quickly and pulled a tissue from her pocket, dabbing at her nose to try and stem the flow. "Lean forward."

She shook her head. "It'll stop in a moment."

I frowned across at her, placing my hand gently on her shoulder. "Have you had a lot of nosebleeds lately, Bree?"

"No! And it's none of your business anyway." She pulled her seatbelt off and lurched out of the car, heading up the porch steps. My eyes followed after her and I noticed my mother stood there awaiting us with the front door already open. I watched as Bree gave some form of greeting to my mother before sliding past her and into the house.

I sighed and heaved myself out of the car before making my way up the steps. I smiled lightly and kissed my mother's cheek. "Hey, Mom."

"Edward," she returned. "To what do I owe this pleasure? And who is your charming guest, are you bring patients home with you now?" she laughed softly and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, guiding her back inside the house.

"That is Bree, Bella's daughter," I explained as I followed my mother through to the kitchen.

"_Your_Bella?" she replied with a sly grin as she set about making us both a cup of tea.

I felt my cheeks heat up as my mother probed as to the identity of Bella. It may or may not have been the case that I'd mentioned her to my parents a few times. I shook my head slowly and poured the recently boiled water into the two mugs Esme had laid out with tea bags in. As I put the kettle back down, Esme took over once more and finished the tea by adding cream to both and one sugar to mine. I picked mine up, cradling it in my hands as we settled ourselves at the kitchen table.

"She's not my Bella, and please don't say anything in front of Bree," I begged as I looked around to make sure we were still alone.

My mom smiled and waved her hand dismissively as if to say that my secret was safe with her. "So how come you have Bree with you? I thought you'd be at the hospital working on your paper."

"Bree's…" I paused and raked my hand through my hair, making it stick up on end, worse than usual, as I tried to put into words what I wanted to say, "going through some things." I finally settled on.

"And your role in that is…?" my mother probed.

"Well, nothing really," I admitted. "Bree's been suspended from school so she's been hanging out at the hospital every day but today she kicked off at Bella."

"So you came to Bella's rescue?" My mother smiled.

"It's not like that," I denied, knowing how my mother would be processing this information differently from any other human being. "She just needed a friend and I happened to be there."

"I understand," my Mom replied before looking over my shoulder and smiling softly. I turned my head, to follow her line of sight and saw Bree walking into the room, her face freshly washed.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked as I slipped into doctor mode, checking her over, from where I sat, for any signs of illness.

"I'm fine, Edward, I just have a bit of a headache," she replied. Esme stood and hurried from the room as Bree moved sluggishly toward the table and slumped into the seat beside me. I took advantage of her sitting beside me as my eyes scanned her face. Aside from looking a little pale, with bloodshot eyes, she appeared to be fine. "I'm sorry for being rude to you in the car," she whispered, keeping her eyes averted from me.

I smiled softly and placed my hand on top of hers, on the table. "Apology accepted."

"Here, I have some Tylenol," Esme said as she re-entered and placed a bottle of pills in front of Bree before fetching a glass of water and sitting down once more.

"Thank you, Mrs Cullen," Bree responded sweetly, unscrewing the cap of the bottle and tipping two white pills into her opened palm.

"Please, dear, call me Esme."

Bree smiled before tipping the glass of water to her lips and swallowing the pain medication. She gently placed the drink on the table and tried to surreptitiously look around the kitchen without being obvious about it. She failed miserably.

"You can go and look around if you want to. I'll call you when lunch is ready," I offered to Bree. She jumped up quickly and all but ran out of the kitchen. I laughed as I watched her leave before turning back to face my mother who had a strange look on her face. "You okay, Mom?"

"Just fine, dear." She patted my hand and pushed back in her seat, the chair scraping along the marble floor as she rose to her feet. "Come and help me prepare some lunch, will you?"

I nodded my assent and pulled away from the table, placing my hands on the back of the chair and gliding it back underneath the table, out of the way.

I loved how things never changed around here. Helping Esme to prepare lunch didn't really entail much preparation on my part. So just like it had always been, for as long as I could remember, I leant against the counter whilst she made a salad, just talking and keeping her company while passing the odd ingredient to her now and then.

"Why don't you go and hunt down Bree while I set the table?" Esme suggested. I nodded and stepped out of the kitchen, heading down the hallway, looking in every open door I came to. After searching the entire ground floor, and still unable to locate her, I moved to go upstairs. As I got to the top, soft musical notes drifted toward me and I smiled as I made my way to the music room.

I stood in the open doorway, propping myself up against the door jamb as I watched Bree pick her way through _The Entertainer_. She was doing well but it was clear she was unpracticed.

"I didn't realise you played," I said, making my presence known. Bree jumped, hitting a few bum keys before she turned to me with wide eyes and leapt off of the piano bench.

"I'm so sorry, Edward!" she stuttered, stepping away from the baby grand. "I shouldn't have touched it without asking."

I smiled and slung my arm around her shoulder, guiding her back downstairs.

"It's fine, Bree. I'm just shocked. Your mother never said you could play."

She shrugged as we made our way into the dining room and settled ourselves at the table.

"I took some lessons back in Seattle."

"So why don't you play anymore?" I asked as I helped myself to a plate of side salad. I buttered three slices of bread and passed one to my mother and one to Bree before dipping my own in my tomato soup.

"We can't really afford the lessons," she responded, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Well, you're more than welcome to come here and use the piano any time you want to," Esme offered, having successfully guessed our topic of discussion.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly," Bree said, shaking her head.

"It would be good for the piano," Esme continued, winking at me. "It doesn't get played anymore now that Edward has moved out and is so busy with work."

I could see the wheels turning in Bree's mind and I knew she really wanted to take Esme up on her offer. She looked across at me and I nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, Esme. Maybe I'll visit again soon and play."

The conversation settled down as we continued to eat our lunch, the only sounds being that of clashing silverware and satisfied hums of enjoyment. Esme finished first, placing her spoon gently down in her bowl before leaning back and rubbing her stomach.

"So, Bree, what do you want to do when you leave school?"

"I won't be leaving for a few years," she responded as she too sat back in her chair.

Esme nodded. "Do you have any idea what you might like to do?"

"Well, I really like medical science." She turned her head and smiled at me, causing me to grin back at her. "I guess maybe I'd like to be a doctor, or a vet." She shrugged and looked back down at her lap, hiding her pink cheeks from view.

I leant forward, closer to Esme as I began to speak enthusiastically. "Bree is very intelligent, all this week she's been sitting with me and doing her school work. We talk about so many things and it's almost like I'm talking to a colleague. Not only does she have the intellect to reach her goals, but she has the drive to do it too, she's very determined and head strong."

Esme stared at me with a strange look upon her face for a moment before she smiled and declared how wonderful that was and that she was sure Bree could do anything she put her mind to. However, Bree didn't seem too happy with the current conversation as she excused herself to the bathroom.

I sighed as I watched her walk away; wondering what had annoyed her this time as I helped Esme clear the table. I loaded the dishwasher as Esme set about making more tea.

"Is she okay?" she asked. "I'm sorry if I said something to upset her."

I shook my head. "I don't think it was you, Mom," I said as I laid my hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

"She's a wonderful girl, Edward."

I smiled. Yes, Bree was a wonderful young woman, when she wanted to be.

"You know, if a person didn't know any better, they'd assume you were her father, the way you praise and encourage her. Are you and Bella…?" she trailed off, expecting an answer as to whether or not Bella and I had resumed our _relationship_, if that's what a bed buddy could be called.

I had always wanted more with Bella, sure. It had started out as an agreement between friends to scratch an itch, but as time went on, I became more and more attracted to her. While I was planning to ask her out properly, she blew me out of the water when she proposed that we should stop what we were doing, that it wasn't good for her or Bree to become involved with someone else so soon after she'd left her husband.

"I uh… we did… um… have," I sighed and shook my head, unable to find the right words to explain my feelings toward Bella. "No, we're just friends. We'll only ever be friends."

A loud crash resonated from the downstairs bathroom and Esme made a move to go and investigate but I held my hand out to stop her.

"I wouldn't, Mom. If Bree is having another tantrum, I don't want you to see her destroy your bathroom." I smiled weakly and stepped toward the door. "I promise to replace anything she's broken."

I felt my anger flare as I hurried toward the bathroom, annoyed at Bree for being so disrespectful when Esme had been nothing but kind and welcoming to her. I knocked on the bathroom door, loudly.

"Bree!" I shouted as I thumped the door, repeatedly. I received no answer and all had gone quiet. I placed my ear to the door, listening hard for any sounds. Quiet moans and indistinguishable noises reached my ears. I knocked again and called once more but still Bree didn't reply. Realising she could have hurt herself, I stepped away from the door, called out that I was coming in and she should move away from the door and then I kicked at the door, right by the lock, amazed when the door splintered open.

The sight which met my eyes was the last thing I ever imagined.

Bree's body was rigid as she convulsed and the ligaments in her neck popping as her jaw locked, her eyes were shut, saliva pooling in her mouth as blood trickled from a wound on her head. Immediately, I sank to my knees, placing my hands loosely on either side of her head so that if she fitted strongly again, her head would push my hands into any obstacles and she wouldn't harm herself further.

It wasn't clear whether hitting her head had caused the seizure or if she'd hit her head while seizing but I had a fair idea which of those two options I would put my money on.

"Mom!" I called out, before leaning down and kissing Bree's forehead tenderly. "Call 911!" I screamed, staring in abstract horror as Bree's seizure simply rolled into another, more intense fit.

**A/N:** Reviews are better than lunch with Edward.


	5. Breathe 2am

**A/N: **Thank you for the continual reads and reviews and for all the PMs telling me to get my butt in gear and produce another chapter for you. There are many reasons why I've been such a fail lately. As usual, I have writers block, it's a struggle for me to write anything of length anymore. Also, I have a new job now which keeps me pretty busy and when I get home, I'm too tired to even contemplate writing. And finally, someone paid for a one shot to be written for charity and even though it took me around six months to write it, it was a priority for me and so I made sure that was written first and now I'm taking part in Fandom for Heroes so I'll be working on that one shot until it's complete too as it has a deadline and this doesn't.

I'm aware thatI will have lost readers and for that, I'm sorry BUT to those of you who remain, thank you and I hope you'll stick with me to the end because this will end… One day.

An absolute massive thanks to SweetVenom69 for all her medical help with this chapter. For any of you reading who understand medicine, this will not be spot on, I've changed things around so that they suit the needs of my story because at the end of the day, that's all this is… A story.

Thanks as always to my beta Tammygrrrrl who never fails to accept chapters/one shots from me.

Chapter Five – Breathe (2am)

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
>And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table<br>No one can find the rewind button, girl.  
>So cradle your head in your hands<br>And breathe… Just breathe,  
>Oh breathe, just breathe.<p>

**BPOV**

"How is she?" Edward asked as he stepped quietly into the room, the door shutting behind him with a soft click.

"She's okay," I whispered, brushing the hair from Bree's face as she slept and I kept up my bedside vigil. My face felt tight from the multitude of tears which had fallen throughout the past two days but I was beyond crying now, at least I hoped I was, since I was completely emotionally spent.

Edward stepped up behind me, placing his hands on my shoulder and squeezing gently, comfortingly, his voice low, scratchy, concerned as he asked, "And how are you?"

My breathing hitched as I choked on a sob, screwing my eyes shut tight, refusing to allow myself to cry anymore. I didn't want Bree to wake up and see me that way. I had been lucky so far, I guess you could say, seeing as she had been in no fit state to see what a mess I was in but then on the other hand, I'd witnessed something that no parent ever wants to see, no parent _should_ ever see.

I had been seething as I left Edward to deal with Bree after she'd decided to wreck the parking lot for no good reason. I'd stormed back into the canteen and proceeded to annoy Rosalie with my short, crisp answers and my mutterings about the best way to punish Bree when I got home after work. I'd also managed to put a few customers off of their lunch, most likely deciding to grab something less than healthy from a vending machine, than face me at the register.

And then I'd received the phone call from Edward, a garbled and strangled message that I'd made him repeat over and over, my mind absolutely steadfast against withholding the information. And finally, growing impatient with me, he'd shouted down the phone and told me to meet him in the emergency room and that he would be there in less than five minutes. I hadn't even bothered to say anything to Rose as I flew out of the cafeteria and down the winding hallways, coming to a halt in front of the ER doors, pacing up and down as I waited, chewing my nails to stubs.

The automatic doors slid open, my heart beat faster, threatening to escape from my body as the sight of my daughter, convulsing violently on a gurney, met my eyes. Her frail body surrounded by medics, including Edward and his father the Chief of surgery, Carlisle Cullen.

"What happened?" I screamed as I rushed at Edward, anger clouding my vision as my body vibrated. "What did you do to her? I thought I could trust you!" I didn't even realize I had moved closer to him until my fists were beating against his chest and his arms were wrapped around me, holding me close, allowing me to leave all of the blame at his door.

I looked past him, with red rimmed eyes and tear stained cheeks and saw that Chief Cullen's wife (whom I'd seen at charity events) was following along, with Bree's book bag in her hand. It was only then that I stopped long enough to question what had actually happened. It didn't make sense that Edward's mom would be with them. She had looked at me sadly but knowingly. It didn't matter that I had just laid hands on her son, she understood, she was a mother.

"I'm sorry I blamed you," I announced to the silent room as I pulled myself back to the present. "I had no right to do that and I'm sorry. I didn't really think you were to blame." I looked down at my sleeping daughter and heaved a sigh of relief. She might have been very unwell but she was here, she was safe and they'd finally managed to stop her seizures. They'd also taken her to surgery to perform a procedure which hadn't taken too long but no one had really told me what was going on.

"Bella, really, it's okay. I'm sure any parent would have reacted the same way," Edward replied gallantly.

I nodded slowly, my eyes never leaving my daughter's sleeping face as Edward dragged a hard, plastic chair closer to the bed and settled himself in it. Silence fell between Edward and I once more, the only sounds in the room were our combined breaths and Bree's soft little murmurs as she slept. Since she was a baby, she'd mumbled in her sleep. I'd always waited for her to form actual words but it never quite got that far, it was still entertaining and comforting to watch though, she was alive, sleeping, dreaming.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" I whispered, breaking the silence, still refusing to tear my eyes away from my baby girl.

"I spoke to Carlisle before I came in and her test results aren't back yet," Edward replied quietly.

I shook my head as a small smile flitted across my face. Edward must have taken avoidance classes while he was at med school. "That's not what I asked." I turned my palm up, resting the back of my hand on the bed, hoping Edward would take the hint and offer me skin on skin contact, comfort. He didn't disappoint, taking my hand in his and gripping it tightly. "You must have some ideas what it could be."

His head bobbed slightly in my peripheral vision. He knew but he just didn't want to say, not until he had the evidence he needed to back up his theories.

"The headaches, mood swings," I paused and took a deep breath, visions of the scene from earlier today replaying in my mind, the tears threatening once more, "and now this. I know it's not just migraines like her pediatrician said a few months back when her headaches first started. It can't be," I sighed and shook my head.

"It could be a number of things, Bella. But no, I don't think it's migraines," he confirmed.

"How could I not have seen this? I'm her mother and I should have noticed the signs. I should have known that she wasn't just acting up or going through a phase. I should have known it was something more. _That's my job_!" I released Edward's hand and hung my head in my own, guilt overwhelming me.

"Bella, you can't blame yourself. No one could have foreseen Bree getting sick."

"That's not true. If it was your child, Edward, you would have noticed."

"I have medical training, Bella. It's a different scenario completely."

"It's not. Mothers know. They always know when something is wrong with their child. I was too wrapped up in my own world to even take an interest in her properly. Trying to keep James out of our lives, you out of my bed and constantly focusing on work have been my only real concerns. I've been so selfish."

Edward's large hand moved to the back of my neck, his thumb rubbing softly at my flesh, the small hairs on my neck rising in response.

"Do you regret taking me to your bed?"

"No."

"Then why did we stop?" I didn't need to look at him to know that his face was confused, yet also hungry and wanting. His voice told me all of that and more.

"You know why I stopped it," I replied, refusing to look at him. This conversation had been a long time coming and while I could talk about it with him now, I couldn't possibly hold his questioning gaze too.

"You told me then but that still doesn't mean I understand."

"We just wanted to scratch each of our mutual itches," I thought aloud.

"Yes, we did," he said. "I thought we were doing quite well with that too."

I nodded. "Yes, too well, perhaps."

"That's really why you ended it, because it was becoming more than sex to you?"

"I told you that before."

"Yes, but I didn't believe it; I thought it was just an excuse. I thought you were scared because that just doesn't make any sense to me, Bella. What's wrong with having _more_ when it's something we both wanted?"

"How would that have looked to Bree? I left her father. I'm trying to teach her that you don't need a man to be happy, that you don't have to stay in an abusive relationship because of fear. I'm trying to teach her to be strong and independent. Sleeping with you in secret was one thing but having you there for breakfast or going out on family outings just wouldn't have been right. Any relationship I have isn't just me Edward, it's me and Bree. We're a package deal." I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Bella, Bree is almost fifteen; she'd understand you having a boyfriend." His arm slipped around my shoulders and I allowed my head to rest on his shoulder, enjoying the comfort of him. "I would have chosen you both, Bella. I knew that choosing you meant having Bree too. I knew that and I wanted it and despite what you may think, or how strong you believe you are, right now, you need someone, Bella. You need me."

"No. Right now I just need to look after my daughter." Silence fell between us again before a fit of giggles erupted from the bed and both Edward and I snapped our attention to Bree whose eyes were wide open, moving from my stunned face to Edward's.

"Oh, my God! I can't believe you've been sleeping together. I should have known!" Her grin widened as she propped herself against her pillows, getting herself comfortable now that she was sitting up slightly. "Just wait until I tell Victoria!"

"Bree!" I laughed and shook my head slightly as I hauled my tired and aching body from the hard, plastic chair and settled myself on the edge of her bed, as close to her as I could get, too happy to see her awake and looking better to chide her for her comment.

My hand reached out to her, tucking her bangs behind her ear, smiling at her lovingly, laughing as she halfheartedly tried to push me away.

"How do you feel?" I asked, staring deep into her eyes, gauging her response.

"Stop fussing, Mom, I'm fine," she replied as she turned her sparkling eyes on Edward. "So… you're in love with my mum," she stated.

"I… Uh…" Edward stuttered, his cheeks turning pink in his embarrassment.

A gentle tap sounded at the door and an ominous silence fell between us, all joviality from the moment before lost as my breath halted in my chest and Edward mumbled a quiet 'come in'.

The Chief's blond hair and smiling face peeked around the edge of the door and I knew then that our lives were due to change forever because while Carlisle was smiling on the outside, I could see the turmoil and sorrow in his eyes and his thinly veiled attempt to hide it.

"Bella, would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment?" he asked softly, his hand resting on the door handle, that tight, polite, reassuringly fake doctor's smile firmly in place.

My eyes flicked first to Bree, who shrugged her shoulders, clearly not bothered by the goings on as she reached for her phone on the bed side table and began tapping out a message to one of her many friends. I shifted my gaze to Edward next, who smiled that same smile which Carlisle offered and I wondered, briefly, if he'd inherited it from his dad or learned it at med school.

"I'll stay with Bree," he murmured, nodding his head toward his father, his eyes still on mine, his gaze pleading with me to find the strength to get up and leave the room.

I stood on shaky legs, my vision tunneled until all that was visible to me was Carlisle's foreboding form, framed by the doorway. And then I was outside Bree's room, the door closed behind me as I pressed my back up against the corridor wall, the scent of the hospital flooding my senses.

My hands were shaking as I clasped them in front of my body. My legs were like jelly and I just wanted to collapse to the floor and sob. I didn't want to hear what I was about to but I knew that I had no choice.

Bree's laughter broke through my thoughts and I turned my head slightly to glance through the window and saw her laughing and joking with Edward, both of them wearing dazzling smiles, both of them seemingly happy, without a care in the world. The only evidence to the contrary was the sadness hiding in Edward's eyes. He knew.

"Bella, would you like to sit down? We can go to my office if you'd prefer?" Carlisle asked as he placed his strong hand securely on my shoulder.

"No," I squeaked, my throat tight. "Please, just tell me."

Carlisle nodded tersely, steeling himself for the news he was about to break to me. He ran his hand through his hair, a move I had seen Edward complete many times, his usually perfectly slicked back, blonde hair falling into his eyes as he trained his gaze on mine, his face showing nothing but compassion and regret.

"Bella, as you know, once Bree was in a stable enough condition we ran some tests. We received the results of her MRI yesterday and that's what prompted us to take her for a biopsy," Carlisle began, before I cut him off with my questioning.

"Biopsy? No one told me about that. Why would she need a biopsy?" My voice had risen slightly and my hands began to shake. I looked through the window at Bree and Edward, taking a deep breath to try and calm myself and get through this.

"The MRI showed a tumor in Bree's frontal lobe," he continued as if I had never interrupted him, while my breath halted in my chest and my head began to swim. Tumor_? Tumor? _

"The tumor has been diagnosed as a glioblastoma multiforme. It's the most aggressive form of brain tumor and unfortunately, it has a very high regrowth rate."

"What does that mean? The uh… The regrowth rate?" My mind was still foggy and I was having trouble focusing on his words, let alone voicing my own thoughts properly.

Carlisle took me by the hand and led me toward the floor's waiting area, which thankfully was empty as he sat me down in yet another hard plastic chair, orange this time, I noticed as I tried to process the things Carlisle had already told me. Bree had a brain tumor, my little girl had been sick all this time and I'd failed to notice.

"It means that even if we were able to remove the tumor, it would continue to grow back. I'm so sorry, Bella, I wish I had better news," he said as he took my frigid hand between his and squeezed gently. "I'm afraid Bree has incurable brain cancer. There is nothing we can do to save her, only a treatment regime and medication that will slow down its progress but ultimately, this condition will take her life."

I swallowed and nodded, unable to open my mouth to speak, for fear of what may come out of it. Carlisle continued on, nonetheless, obviously trying to give me as much information as he possibly could before I'd inevitably break down.

"She'll become weaker and weaker as the disease progresses, her mood swings may increase and she will be in a lot of pain but we'll give her medication to try to control that as much as possible and to make her comfortable. There is a strong chance that she'll end up in a wheelchair toward the end, or possibly even bed ridden. Bella, do you understand what I'm saying to you?" Carlisle asked, lowering his head as he tried to catch my eye.

I forced myself to look up at him and nodded slowly, swallowing hard past the lump in my throat, surprised to find that I wasn't crying, I wasn't even close to crying. "Yes," I murmured, breaking eye contact as I turned away from him, looking at the wall opposite, seeing the posters stuck to the walls but not actually _seeing_ them, as I spoke monotonously. "Bree is going to die."

"Yes," Carlisle confirmed and I wondered if he had to repeat it over and over in case I refused to actually listen, in case I chose to forget it instead. Perhaps that happened often with patients who received bad news. Maybe it seemed like that, taking it all on board, but really they're letting the words flow right through them, refusing to believe.

"Would you like me to discuss treatment options with you now?"

"What options are there?" I whispered. "From what you've just said, there doesn't seem to be a lot available."

"There is palliative care available, drugs which will make Bree comfortable but ultimately it will have no effect on the tumor, allowing it to continue growing," he paused.

"Or?"

"Or we can remove the tumor and implant a gliadel wafer in place of the tumor which will release the medication over a two to three week period. It would be a one-time procedure, which we could perform when Bree is feeling a little stronger, and in conjunction she'll have a prescription of Temador to take daily at home, along with Morphine for the pain and Zofran for the sickness."

"That's invasive," I said, trying my hardest to keep a firm grip on the information I was being provided with while my heart was breaking.

"Yes, it is a more invasive approach but Bella, in my honest opinion, this is the only option I would choose, if it was me."

My anger flared as I stood up, knocking that stupid plastic chair over, satisfied with the crashing sound it made as it clattered to the floor. "If it was you? If it was _you_?" I shouted, my face growing red. "It's not you though Carlisle, is it? This is my daughter! My fourteen year old daughter." I slumped to the floor as my body ran out of steam, pulling my knees to my chest, trying fruitlessly to hold myself together as the tears finally came, the shock passing as the sorrow crept in. "My little girl, my baby."

Carlisle crouched in front of me, hovering for a moment before his arms wrapped tightly around me, offering me the same comfort that his son would.

"I truly am sorry, Bella, if there was any more that I could do. I would."

"I know," I cried, my voice cracking as I buried my face in Carlisle's chest, allowing my tears to soak through his shirt. We stayed that way for some time, until the sobs had finally stopped wracking my body and I had calmed enough to stand.

"Would you like me to explain it to Bree?" Carlisle asked softly, his golden eyes fixed on mine.

I shook my head. "I'll do it, thank you." I looked away and took a deep breath, getting myself back under control. "When can I take her home?"

"I'd like her to have something to eat before she leaves. I'll get her prescription ready for you and she can begin taking her medication. I'll call you in the next few days to schedule the surgery."

"Okay," I replied as I stepped back toward Bree's room. "Excuse me but I need to be with my daughter."

"Of course," he replied. "I'll check in on Bree before you leave." I nodded and turned away from him, stopping outside Bree's room for a moment, making sure that I plastered a smile on my face and cleared my mind of any negativity. I would tell Bree what was going on but first I wanted to get her home, where she would feel safe.

I stepped back into the room, my eyes were red and puffy, I knew that, but I painted a smile on my face regardless. My feet carried me across the room until I was perched on the edge of Bree's bed once more.

"Mom?" she quietly asked, a flash of worry crossing her face.

I forced myself to smile wider, feeling my cheeks pull, as I took her hand in mind, trying not to cry as I looked down at her small palm wrapped protectively in mine.

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Mmhm." I nodded before realizing that I'd have to speak actual words and not just make sounds, hoping my voice would hold out. "Yes, of course, everything is just fine."

Edward's eyes flashed to mine, his brow furrowing. He could see through the lie easily because he knew, even without having seen the tests or speaking to Carlisle, he knew as any doctor would that something was seriously wrong with Bree. I just hoped he'd let me handle this my way, the way which was best for Bree. She was so young and she didn't need to know the seriousness of this illness.

"Cool." She flicked her phone open and closed over and over, barely even focusing on her surroundings, clearly lost in her own thoughts.

"Victoria wants to know when I'll be going home."

I smiled for real this time as I replied with, "Doctor Cullen says we can go home later tonight, as soon as you've eaten and we've collected your medication."

"Edward said he'd get me a Chinese," Bree replied as she sent a message to Victoria, no doubt letting her know that she'd be home in a few hours.

"Did he now?" I smiled as I turned to him, laughing softly as he shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Yep." She popped the 'P'. "And he's even going all the way to the Golden Dragon."

"That's quite a ways from here, Bree. I'm sure Edward doesn't want to drive all that way."

"It's fine, Bella, I said she could have whatever she wanted." He smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, I kind of promised so I can't really change my mind now."

"You shouldn't spoil her," I replied, trying to scowl but failing miserably. Despite the news I'd just heard, I was somewhat happy. My baby girl was awake and talking and more importantly, she was back to her normal self.

"It's just this one," he assured me, standing up and dropping a kiss to the top of my head before moving to the door. "Special Chow Mein for you?" he asked, having already taken down Bree's order while I was out of the room and knowing my usual from our many nights of take out and sex.

"No prawns," I called after him. He laughed and acknowledged my request with a small wave of his hand.

"Can Victoria come over when we get home?" Bree asked, drawing my attention back to her.

"Not today, Sweetheart. I think when we get home we should put our pajamas on, grab some blankets and camp out on the couch with silly rom-coms and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. You might be feeling better but you should still get some rest. I know what you and Victoria are like together and I don't want you running around all night."

She shrugged. "Spending the night watching DVDs with you sounds much better anyway." She smiled brightly and wrapped her tiny arms around me, squeezing me fiercely. "Thanks, Mom."

I held her tightly to me, my eyes closed as I committed the moment to memory. "You're welcome, Darling."

"Hey, Mom?"

"Mmm?"

She pulled back slightly and frowned at me, confusion written on her face. "What medication?" she asked, following it up with a yawn, as she remembered my comment about it earlier.

"We'll talk about it later. Get some sleep, Baby. I'll wake you when Edward gets back with your food."


End file.
